Vertically adjustable shower head



1954 H. w. LUNDQUIST VERTICALLY ADJUSTABLE SHOWER HEAD Filed Sept. 25, 1952 HENDRIK W Zwvnawsz;

- INVENTOR.

C W V Patented Aug. 3, 1954 2,685,093 VERTIOALLY ADJUSTABLE SHOWER HEAD Hendrik W. Lundquist, Tujunga, Calif. Application September 23, 1952, Serial No. 310,943

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a vertically adjustable shower head.

Although it is not new, in the art to which this invention pertains, to provide means for supporting a spray or shower head in a verticalremains room for improving upon such devices, particularly in the matter of providing a more simple and more satisfactory means for housing the water supply hose so that it is at all times maintained in a concealed, protected position; and to provide a better guide means along which the part which carries the spray head may be quickly and accurately adjusted vertically, and which will dependably frictionally maintain said part in the selected adjusted position.

Accordingly, among the objects of the present invention are: to provide an improved vertically &

wide range of vertical adjustment, thus adapting it to be used advantageously either by tall or short persons or to be brought down to within a few inches of the floor for bathing infants, or for bathing the feet of an adult.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, on a smaller scale than the remaining views, affording an interior view of a bath room shower stall, showing the device installed therein.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device, parts of the structure being broken out to contract the view, and parts being broken away to disclose underlying structures.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a cross section on line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section on line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a rear perspective view of the carriage or carrier of the spray head, a fragment of the hose concealing strip being included in the View.

Fig. 7 is a cross section of the body portion of the spray head carrier, dotted lines indicating the relation of the casing or mounting strip thereto. This view is taken on line of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the elongated sheet metal or plastic mountmg plate I0 carries along each side edge an arcuate flange I I, both of said flanges projecting from the same face of said plate and each terminating in an inwardly directed edge portion I2 which is parallel to the body portion of the plate of which it forms a part. The mounting means afforded by said plate I0 is completed by the provision of an upper closure block I5 and a lower closure block I6, together with an upper face plate I! and a lower face plate I8. Said closure or spacer blocks fit into the end portions of the flanged strip I0 and said face plates are attached to said blocks by screws I9, in an overlying relation to the aforesaid edge portions I2 of the flanges II. Screws 2|] are shown securing said blocks to the web or body portion of the strip I0. In the break in the upper end portion of Fig. 2 the block I5 is shown having through it a bore I5a, the use of which will appear hereinafter. Screws indicated at 2| are used to attach said strip II] to the shower stall wall 22.

Said inner edge portions I2 of the flanges I I are uniformly spaced apart, thus providing a guide way for the carriage or carrier 30 which carries the spray head 3|, said carriage having a body portion 32 with opposed twin grooves 33 which slidably engage said flange portions I2. Forwardly of said grooves said body portion 32 has along each side a flange portion 34 which considerably overlaps the flange portion I2 at its side of the structure.

The flexible hose 40 which supplies water under pressure to the spray head 3|, has its intake end connected by a coupling nut 40a to an L 4| in turn carried by a nipple filo, extending outwardly from the wall 22 at a point superjacent to the upper end of the attached mounting strip I 0, said strip being so positioned that the portion of said hose which is above its presently to be mentioned arcuate bend extends downwardly along and within one of the arcuate flange portions II of said strip I0. As shown in the break in the lower part of Fig. 2 said hose is arcuately rebent below the carriage 30, being thus provided with an upwardly directed terminal run which interiorly occupies the other arcuate flange. This terminal run of the hose is connected by means of a coupling nut iilb to a nipple 46 which depends from and communicates with a tubular, lateral extension 45 of the carriage body 32. Said carriage body has within it an angular passage d1 one end of which communicates with said extension 45 and the other end of which communicates with a threaded nipple t8, the spray head 3| being connected with this nipple by means of a coupling nut 48a.

Integral with each side portion of the carriage body 32 is an upwardly directed flange i9 and a downwardly directed flange 59a. Two small parallel upper shafts 50, bridge the space between said upper flanges 49, and two like lower shafts 52 and 53 bridge the space between said lower flanges lsa. Said upper shafts are arranged on a bias, as shown, and carry turnable, nearly contacting rollers 55, while said lower shafts are similarly biased and carry turnable, nearly contacting rollers 56.

A flexible screening strip Bl] of sheet material extends lengthwise of the device and passes, under pressure, between the rollers of each of the aforesaid pairs in the manner best illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6, so that said screening strip conceals from view those portions of said hose which happen to be above and below the aforesaid carriage 30, where portions of said hose would otherwise appear between the aforesaid inwardly directed flange portions i2, whereas the part of said screening strip 60 between the upper and lower pairs of rollers is maintained in a rearward relation to the carriage body 32. The upper end portion of said screening strip is interposed between the block i5 and upper face plate ll, whereas the lower end portion of said strip Gills interposed between the lower block l6 and lower face plate IS, the screws I9 passing through said strip and securely fastening it in place.

When the device is sold the buyer will be furnished with the L-shaped fitting 4| which is fragmentarily shown in the upper portions of Figs. 2 and 3.

In constructing the It may be made of various ing sheet material, whether of plastic or of metal, and in combination with the end blocks l5 and I6 forms an elongated casing. The space between the flange portions l2 forms a slot which extends lengthwise of said casing nearly to each end thereof, the sheet material along each side of said slot being, as already stated, slidably engaged by the grooved side portions of the body portion 32 of the carriage 30. Owing to the pairs of rollers 55 and 56 rearwardly deflecting a portion of the flexible strip 60 so that it passes behind the carriage 30 the front portion of said carriage is uncovered together with the spray head 5|, which projects forwardly from said-carriage and has a universal angular adjustability.

Regarding the installing and operating of the device, when it is purchased the buyer, as stated, will be furnished with the L-shaped fitting 4| so that after detaching the conventional spray head from the wall of the shower stall, he can put said fitting in its place. After thus mounting said L- shaped fitting and attaching the removed spray head 3| to the carriage 30, preparatory to the application of the device as a whole to the wall, the screws |9 (shown in the upper parts of Figs.

device the mounting plate kinds of form retainbetween them,

2 and 3), are removed together with the upper face plate I]. Then, after moving said carriage and spray head down as far as possible within the mounting strip ID, the portion of the screening strip 60 above the lowered carriage will be pulled down out of the way so as to expose, almost down to the lowered carriage, the space or slot between the two flange portions |2 of the mounting strip or casing. Thereupon the uppermost screw 2| will be put into place, care being taken to see that when this is done the aforesaid bored out part of the upper block I5 is vertically subjacent to the downwardly directed limb of the L-shaped fitting 4|, so that the upper end of the hose 40 may be coupled on to said fitting. Thereupon the lowermost of the screws 2| will be put into place superjacent to the lowered carriage, and after this has been done the upper end portion of thescreening strip will be drawn up over the front face of the block l5 and covered with the upper face plate following which the screws ls will be replaced, thus completing the assembling of the device and mounting it in its operative position, except for the final step, which will be coupling the upper end of the hose 4|] onto the lower limb of the L-shaped fitting 4|.

The arcuately bent lower part of the hose 40 possesses sufficient resiliency to cause it to press. against opposite sides of the casing structure within which it is contained, this alone affording sufficient friction to maintain the carriage 3c in its vertically adjusted position, but this feature is supplemented by the friction between the grooved sides of the carriage 30 and the edge portions l2 of the flanges along which said carriage travels, so that fullydependable means is provided in maintaining the carriage and spray head wherever adjusted.

I claim:

1. In a device of the kind described, an elongated mounting plate'carrying along each side edge a flange, both of said flanges projectingv from the same face of said plate and being uniformly spaced apart thus forming a guideway plate and attaching it to a wall in a vertical, over.- lying relation thereto, a carriage mounted between said flanges to travel along the aforesaid guideway, a spray headmounted upon said carriage, a flexible with a source of water supply, an elongated flexible sheet mounted between and extending along the length of saidflanges, and rollers carried by said carriage and in engagementzwith opposite faces of said sheet thus to aidin frictionally maintaining said. carriage in vertically adjusted positions.

2. In a device of the kind described, an elongated mounting plate carrying along each side edge a flange, both of said flanges projecting from the same face of said plate, said flanges terminating in edge portions which are directed toward each other thus producing a guideway between them, a carriage having a. body portion provided in each of opposite sides with a groove, said edge portions of said: plate being slidably contained in said grooves, a spray head mounted upon said carriage, a flexible water supply hose connected with said spray head,.means extending through said plate and securing it to an upstanding wall with said flanges directed outwardly from the wall, and a strip of flexible sheet material attached to said plate and extending'from" end toend theme so that its widthv internally bridges the space between the edge portionsv of;

means extending through said hose connecting said spray head said flanges, and co-operating rollers carried by said carriage in engagement with opposite faces of said sheet.

3. In a device of the kind described, an elongated casing having parallel side walls of form retaining sheet material, said side walls as viewed in cross section being arcuate, each wall having its concave side directed toward the midwidth of said casing, a carriage mounted between said side walls and manually adjustable longitudinally of said casing, means carried by said casing frictionally to maintain said carriage in its adjusted position, means securing said casing to a room wall with its length extending vertically, a spray head mounted upon said carriage in a position to direct spray away from said wall, a flexible water supply hose having an end portion connected to and communicating with said spray head in ternally of one of said concave side walls of said casing, said hose having a U-shaped loop portion Within said casing below said carriage, that arm of said U-shaped loop portion which is farthest from said spray head leading upwardly along the opposite concave casing wall to and out of the top of said casing, said casing having a slot extending along the midwidth of its front side to points adjacent to each end thereof, a screening strip of flexible sheet material wider than said slot underlying the latter, said carriage being frictionally related to said strip, and guide means for said strip mounted on said carriage, said guide means comprising a plurality of rotatable rollers engaging opposite faces of said strip whereby a portion thereof is deflected so as to pass behind said carriage leaving a portion of the latter together with the spray head carried thereby in an exposed, projecting relation to said slot.

4. In a device of the kind described, an elongated mounting plate carrying along each side edge a flange, both of said flanges projecting from the same face of said plate and being uniformly spaced apart thus forming a guideway between them, means extending through said plate and attaching it to a wall in a vertical, overlying relation thereto, a carriage mounted between said flanges to travel along the aforesaid guideway, a spray head mounted upon said carriage, a flexible hose connecting said spray head with a source of Water supply, said hose occupying the space between said flanges, flexible sheet material carried by said plate in an underlying relation to its said flanges and screening said hose from view, and means comprising a pair of spaced apart rollers carried by said carriage in a parallel adjacent relation to each other to deflect said sheet material out of its way during its travel as aforesaid along said guideway, from one adjusted position to another.

5. In a device of the kind described, an elongated mounting plate carrying along each side edge a flange, both of said flanges projecting from the same face of said plate, said flanges terminating in edge portions which are directed toward each other thus producing a guideway between them, a carriage having a body portion provided in each of opposite sides with a groove, said edge portions of said plate being slidably contained in said grooves, a spray head mounted upon said carriage, a flexible water supply hose connected with said spray head, means extending through said plate and securing it to an upstanding wall with said flanges directed outwardly from the wall, a strip of flexible sheet material attached to said plate and extending from end to end thereof so that its width internally bridges the space between the edge portions of said flanges, and co-operating rollers carried by said carriage in engagement with opposite faces of said sheet, there being two pairs of said rollers, said pairs being spaced apart longitudinally of said plate and deflecting the portion of said strip between them so that said strip portion is located inwardly of said carriage.

6. In a device of the kind described, an elongated casing having parallel side walls of form retaining sheet material, said side walls as viewed in cross section being arcuate, each wall having its concave side directed toward the midwidth of said casing, a carriage mounted between said side Walls and manually adjustable longitudinally of said casing, means carried by said casing frictionally to maintain said carriage in its adjusted position, means securing said casing to a room wall with its length extending vertically, a spray head mounted upon said carriage in a. position to direct spray away from said Wall, a flexible Water supply hose having an end portion connected to and communicating with said spray head internally of one of said concave side walls of said casing, said hose having a U-shaped loop portion within said casing below said carriage, that arm of said Ushaped loop portion which is farthest from said spray head leading upwardly along the opposite concave casing wall to and out of the top of said casing, said casing having a slot extending along the midwidth of its front side between points adjacent to the opposite ends thereof, and a screening strip of flexible sheet material wider than said slot underlying the latter, said carriage being frictionally related to said strip and carrying guide means for said strip whereby a portion thereof is deflected so as to pass behind said carriage leaving a portion of the latter together with the spray head carried thereby in an exposed, projecting relation to said slot, said guide means for said strip comprising a plurality of rollers rotatably mounted upon said carriage and engaging opposide faces of said strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,496,520 Daniel Feb. 7, 1950 2,598,092 Alvey May 27, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 95,879 Sweden Mar. 30, 1939 480,942 Great Britain Mar. 2, 1938 

